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Ramadan and the moral reasons for giving charity
Unfortunately, despite seemingly equal opportunities, our current system still includes elements of luck, fortune, accident of birth and familial support.
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Muslims attend tarawih (evening prayers) on the first night of the holy fasting
month of Ramadan on March 11, 2024. at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta. (Reuters /Willy Kurniawan)
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s a person raised in a Muslim family, my mom used to tell me when I was a kid, "Give sadaqah [charity], then believe that God will multiply your property later."
I would whisper to myself with excitement, “Charity is like an investment! I will have more money if I do it.” Hereafter this became the first reason I give to charity. However, if I don't get my investment back, I’ll get the investment back in the afterlife, paradise.
The second reason would be pity. I usually mumble to myself: this kid on the street should be at school during the day instead of selling newspapers on the street. Thus, I give him/her money.
But the question is, should I just give charity when I feel pity and want to benefit myself as a utilitarian? How can charity help curb social inequality and be a path to attain social justice?
Before we address these questions, let’s first consider a fundamental inquiry: do we live in a just society? To be precise, is a meritocratic society inherently just?
When comparing it with rival theories of justice, including feudal and libertarian systems, the meritocratic system offers superior access to opportunities for individuals. In the feudal system, only those born into aristocratic families could access education.
For example, in the early 20th century Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), individuals of not of European descent (native/Chinese/Arabic mixed blood) could only access education if they were part of the local authority's family.
